ABSTRACT
Objective: To quantitatively evaluate the changes of diffusional and perfusion of degenerative water molecules in lumbar inervertebral disc by multiple b-value voxel incoherent motion imaging. Methods: We selected 60 patients (34 males and 26 females) with low back pain or sciatica from The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University. The subjects underwent lumbar MRI sagittal T2WI and median sagittal multiple b-value weighted imaging. We graded the L1-S1 disc according to the Pfirrmann grading standards, and measured the ADCslow, ADCfast, f values of the nucleus pulla, and the anterior and posterior edges of the annulus fibrosus. We compared the mean values of ADCslow, ADCfast, f at the anterior and posterior edges of nucleus pulposus and annulus fibrosus and analyzed the correlation analysis between them and the grade of degeneration. Single factor analysis of variance combined with SNK test was used in the statistics. Results: A total of 300 discs were measured and the statistical results showed that: ① The mean value of the ADC of the nucleus pulposus of each grade of the lumbar disc decreased with the increase of the grade. Although there was no significant difference between grade and grade Ⅱ, grade and grade , there were statistically significant differences between the other grades (P0.05). Conclusion: The quantitative measurement of nucleus pulposus ADCslow based on IVIM is a potential and more sensitive quantitative magnetic resonance method for evaluating early degeneration of lumbar disc.
ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the risk factors of intrahepatic recurrence after resection for Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) stage 0 hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).Methods 58 patients with pathologically confirmed BCLC stage 0 HCC treated with liver resection at the Zhongshan Hospital,Fudan University from January to December 2011 were included in this study.The male/female ratio was 50/8.The age ranged from 31 to 72 years.The clinical,pathological and MR imaging features of these patients were analyzed.The recurrence-free survival rates between patients with HCC ≤ 1.5 cm (n=27) and ＞ 1.5 cm (n=31) were compared.The risk factors of intrahepatic recurrence for HCCs were compared using the Cox regression analysis.Results Intrahepatic recurrence was identified in 25 patients,and the median recurrence time was 33 months.The 3-and 5-year cumulative recurrence-free survival rates were 73.0％ (95％CI:60.7％～85.3％) and 52.3％ (95％CI:37.2％～67.4％).No significant differences were found in the recurrence-free survival rates between tumors ≤ 1.5 cm and ＞ 1.5 cm (P＞0.05).Multivariate analyses demonstrated that serum alpha-fetoprotein level ＞20 g/L (HR 3.773,95％CI:1.628～8.745;P＜0.05) and irregular tumor shape (HR 4.584,95％CI:1.485～ 14.155;P＜0.05) were independent risk factors of intrahepatic recurrence.Conclusions Elevated serum alpha-fetoprotein level and irregular tumor shape were associated with an increased risk of intrahepatic recurrence for BCLC stage 0 HCC patients after resection.They could be used as early prognostic indicators in clinical practice.